"We should be a bit more competitive" - Oscar and Lando target a step forward in Budapest

Oscar is dreaming of a McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team hat-trick at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with the team having won here in each of the last two seasons, but remains realistic as they begin testing the latest developments on the MCL40.

Oscar won his first Formula 1 race at the Hungaroring two years ago after overtaking Lando at the start, while the Briton reversed the order in 2025 by holding off his charging team-mate to win by 0.698s.

A victory has so far evaded the team in 2026, but a minor, track-specific upgrade led to an encouraging Belgian Grand Prix last weekend, even though a myriad of factors prevented a stronger result.

Lando qualified P3 but started 13th due to a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding the permitted number of allocated power electronics units. He battled back to finish P7, two spots behind Oscar.

The 2026 Championship standings have been largely defined by upgrades and maximising power unit performance so far, with teams racing to get the latest package on their car ahead of their rivals. Further updates have been brought to Budapest, including a new floor among other aerodynamic parts, as we look to reduce the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari.

Hungary’s high-downforce circuit should hopefully see those changes have an immediate impact, and Oscar is hopeful for a strong weekend.

“I think we should be a bit more competitive,” Oscar said. “We’ve got a few upgrades this weekend, so hopefully that puts us a bit closer to being able to fight.

“I think in Spa, certainly in the race, we were probably a bit more competitive than we expected, so that was a good thing.”

Formula 1 will embark on a four-week summer break following Sunday’s race, before resuming at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort on 21 - 23 August.

It has been a breathless first half of the season, which has included four podiums, but also three frustrating retirements between our two drivers.

“There have been highs and lows, for sure,” Oscar added. “Probably more lows than highs, unfortunately. For us as a team, it’s obviously not been the first half of the year that we would have liked, especially compared to last year, so hopefully the second half of the year can be better.

“For myself as well, there have been some good moments, some not-so-good moments and pretty much everything in between.

“I want to be able to improve and be a bit more consistently on top of my game, and hopefully we can do that this weekend and in the second half of the year.”

The Hungarian Grand Prix is celebrating its 40th anniversary after first appearing on the calendar in 1986.

We are the most successful team in its history, with 13 race wins, including our first victory in 1988 for Ayrton Senna, who won the race three times, back-to-back wins for Mika Häkkinen in 1999 and 2000, and a run of five wins in six years between 2007 and 2012.

Oscar’s 2024 success and Lando’s 2025 win joined those moments, and the reigning World Champion is hoping for more success in the second half of the year.

Lando last finished on the podium at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix four races ago and hopes to snap that run in Budapest.

“I’d say this upgrade is probably the biggest of the year by quite a long way, so we’re hoping it’s going to bring us a step [forward],” he said. “There’s been a couple of bits this year that haven’t worked exactly the same as we’ve expected or as we wanted, so I’m just being patient before I get too excited over anything.

“We’re hoping for more grip, a faster car, I hope. Let’s just wait and see first. I am obviously hoping that it just allows us to get more pace out of the car and limit some of the issues that we have currently, or at least make them a little bit less.

“I’m confident we can still be quick. I think there have been many races this year where we’ve been quick. Spa was probably one of the first, alongside Miami, where I think we generally seemed pretty decent, and actually the pace was pretty strong even compared to the frontrunners, or the quickest.

“Where we’re clearly behind is still just Qualifying – there’s no chance we’re getting close to going four-tenths quicker in Qualifying, or half a second quicker.

“I think there are bits on both sides that need to improve, but I certainly hope the upgrade can give us a little bit of a jump.”